Box Office: 'Once Upon A Deadpool' Could Be The Coal In Hollywood's Christmas Stocking

So sayeth Box Office Mojo, Fox’s Once Upon a Deadpool has been rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence and action, crude sexual content, language, thematic elements and brief drug material.” As noted in Deadline two days ago, the movie is essentially a recut version of Deadpool 2 with a new wrap-around sequence featuring Fred Savage sending up his Princess Bride character. The film will play in limited release (theater count to-be-determined) starting on Dec. 12 and continuing through Christmas Day. So, yes, it’s the “12 Days of Deadpool,” and $1 of every ticket will go to F*ck Cancer.

This PG-13 version of Deadpool 2 is less about placating Fox’s new owners (Walt Disney) and more about testing the waters for a theoretical PG-13 release of a movie like Deadpool or X-Force in China. Venom is days away from snagging a potentially massive (as much as $80m) Fri-Sun debut in said territory. If a movie like Deadpool could go out as R-rated in North America for the domestic fandom and exist coherently as a PG-13 offering in China or other interested territories, that would be a win/win. It could also give filmmakers more artistic freedom in terms of LGBTQIA-friendly content.

Yes, there have been R-rated movies cut to PG or PG-13, such as Saturday Night Fever, The King’s Speech and The Passion of the Christ (The Passion Recut was technically unrated), but this is a different level of effort. Whatever the reason for this unique offering, Fox, Ryan Reynolds and friends are essentially sabotaging every other studio’s Christmas. The film will play right when Hollywood is releasing an unholy number of very big or important releases. Every film going for Christmas cash will have to fend off a recut version of a teen/young adult-targeted superhero sequel whose domestic success is almost irrelevant.

Yes, this is a limited release offering, and yes it is a PG-13 version of a movie that already existed in theaters last summer as an R-rated flick (which earned $320 million domestic and $734m worldwide on a $110m budget) and now exists on Blu-ray as an unrated version. Since Fox isn’t really doing this for year-end box office glory, they won’t care too much if it proves about as successful as Paramount/Viacom Inc.’s R-rated cut of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues which opened with $1.358 million in 1,317 theaters in February of 2014 before ending with just $2.184m domestic.

On Dec. 14, we’re getting Mortal Engines (a $100 million YA fantasy franchise-starter), Clint Eastwood’s The Mule and Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Walt Disney moved its 1600lbs gorilla Mary Poppins Returns from Christmas Day to Dec. 19, which itself sabotaged the movies opening on Dec. 14 and Dec. 21. Dec. 21 will offer Aquaman, the Transformers prequel Bumblebee, Jennifer Lopez’ Second Act and Robert Zemeckis’ pricey Welcome to Marwen. And then the Will Farrell/John C. Reilly comedy Holmes and Watson will open on Christmas Day alongside Adam McKay’s all-star Dick Cheney biopic Vice.

We can debate to what extent each of these films are “must-hit” offerings, but they will now have to contend with a media-friendly recut of an already massively popular superhero sequel. And whether or not Once Upon A Deadpool actually makes an impact, it doesn’t have to and yet is still choosing to potentially grab vital moviegoing interest right when the deluge of Christmas biggies need it the most. It has the potential to be the box office equivalent of a third-party candidate who receives just enough of the vote to impact the race in one direction or another.

The release will likely affect the fortunes of the pre-Christmas Day releases more than the actual Dec. 25 movies, but the likes of Mortal Engines and Bumblebee will need every ticket they can get. Without discounting Christmas legs (IE – you can see Once Upon a Deadpool and Aquaman), this release is an obnoxious fly in the ointment for Fox’s rivals. Maybe the PG-13 Deadpool 2 will be far more written about than seen. But if it is enough of an “event” to impact the Christmas slate, that would be a disruptive prank worthy of Wade Wilson himself.

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